Preston Hollow Residence

Dallas, Texas

The thrust of this design was to weave the house through the magnificent trees occupying the site, using them as a foil to the rigorous architecture. In contrast to adjacent McMansions, the lean massing and subtle shading of this house gives it a calm presence on the street. The arbors were planted with grape vines made famous by a great-great uncle and the column bases, designed for leaning against, add a playful repetitive form to the architecture. Upstairs the children's playroom forms a bridge linking back stairs and bedrooms. The master bath's open plan captures the sensation of bathing in the treetops. Downstairs the client's desire for reinterpreted Arts and Crafts is expressed in streamlined chair rails, wainscoting and richly stained woodwork. Pecan floors were milled from old trees on the owners' farm which were doomed when the Army Corps of Engineers rerouted the Red River.